Back to the Drawing Board: Photographer Ad

My original life plan was to study commercial art after finishing high school. I graduated from Canton South High School (Canton, Ohio) in 1976. I did not go to art school. Instead, I enrolled at Cincinnati Bible College (now Cincinnati Christian University) where I studied Bible and ministry. However, my interest in art, especially commercial art and cartoon illustration, remained. 

During my sophomore year, I was offered the chance to work in the college print shop. My supervisor, Tim, was an upperclassman who had learned publication layout from his grandfather, a commercial artist. Tim's job was to prepare the college's publications for printing. The college was small and did not have a lot of money for printing or marketing, so most of those pieces were simple 2-sided jobs printed up in black ink. A few, though, were 2-color jobs, with maybe 1-2 annual publications printed in 4 colors.

In those days, publications were constructed on a drawing board from sheets of printed text using sharp knives, t-squares and spray glue. The pages were then photographed and printing plates made from the negatives. Tim became, for a short time, my mentor. He showed me how to use the camera, clean up the negatives, and make the printing plates. He also taught me basics of design and how to put publications together on the drawing board.

That short period in my life was one of the best. Because of the things I learned from Tim, I still -- occasionally -- dabble in design for print. His name came to mind today as I was writing this post. My wife, a pet and child photographer, is in the midst of a Christmas promo. I prepped an ad for her for use on her Facebook page. A copy is below. It's my design, so if it doesn't work, that's my bad. But If I got it right, it's because of my teacher.